Does majority support for minority rights impact perceived norms and psychological well-being? An application to the LGBTIQ+ context

Abstract

Several legislative changes following popular votes have transformed the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer (i.e., LGBTIQ+) people. We suggest these decisions to change laws serve as strong signals of public support (i.e., shifting the perceived societal norms), which may not only impact the well-being of individuals directly targeted by these votes (LGBTIQ+ people) but also members of advantaged groups (cis-heterosexual people) supporting or opposing such changes. Drawing on three preregistered analyses of longitudinal studies following votes in Switzerland (Study 1, 419 LGBTIQ+ people; Study 3, 619 LGBTIQ+ people and 247 cis-heterosexual supporters) and Australia (Study 2, 189 cis-heterosexual supporters and 195 cis-heterosexual opponents), we find that legal changes extending LGBTIQ+ rights led to a positive shift in perceived norms. This positive shift also led to a change in the well-being of LGBTIQ+ people in Study 1 but not in Study 3, suggesting that substantial variation in how people initially perceive the norm may be necessary for such changes to affect well-being. No association was found between perceived norms and well-being among cis-heterosexual people in Studies 2 and 3. Together, these findings suggest that it is critical to focus on the socio-psychological impacts of legal changes on people.